Flash floods leave hundreds of city commuters stranded

By Ibrahim Kavuma

The early morning downpour left several roads in Kampala and Wakiso completely flooded on Sunday.

In Wakiso district, around Lubigi wetland, scores of commuters were seen stranded and several businesses have been disrupted by the raging waters from the flash floods.

While in Kampala at Kinawataka and Banda along Jinja Road, traffic was slowed down as motorists maneuvered their way out of the water.

The rain, which started at around 3:00am on Sunday, left pedestrians struggling to cross flooded roads, in some cases resulting in minor accidents.

Some local youth have taken advantage of the situation to earn money by carrying desperate pedestrians to drier sections of the road, charging up to Shs 5,000 per person for a distance of just about 50 metres.

Speaking to KFM, Nansana Member of Parliament Zambaali Bulasio Mukasa is now calling for a comprehensive drainage master plan to address recurring flash floods in Lubigi and surrounding areas.

Mr. Mukasa has asked district authorities and the Minister of Water and Environment to work together to develop a sustainable drainage system, calling for the removal of all illegal structures from wetlands.

“They tried to evict all those that are encroaching into this wetland. But I have seen others that remain, we need a proper policy on how we can manage our wetlands,there has to be a policy and that policy has to be implemented. We are good at doing things in a political way. When it is politics, and then we hide away and then we don’t do things in a good way,” Mr Mukasa said.

He has promised to raise the matter in Parliament, urging the government to take urgent action to protect lives, restore road access and prevent further economic losses.

“We have made remarks on several people that are being watched on this wetland, but how far are you going to implement this? We need a sustainable plan that is going to help our community. From my own observation, I am going to request the Speaker of Parliament , in his communication when it comes to issues of national importance, to raise such an important issue of the Lubigi wetland,” he said.

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